Perfect Jinchuriki

The following afternoon.

A C-5 transport plane landed at a military airport on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

After the rear cargo door opened, Roy, Tony, and Rhode disembarked from the C-5.

Without hesitation, Tony headed straight toward Pepper, dressed in professional attire, and Happy, standing ramrod-straight in his suit.

He quickly arrived in front of Pepper.

"Your eyes are red. Missing your boss who disappeared?"

Tony teased Pepper.

"I'm happy. Happy that I don't have to look for another job."

Pepper Responded.

She then turned to Roy beside Tony and said gratefully, "Thank you."

"I take the money and handle the trouble. No need to thank me."

Roy replied calmly.

Pepper was about to say something else when Tony spoke up, asking her, "Did you bring the checkbook?"

"Yes."

Pepper immediately took out a checkbook and pen from her handbag and handed them to Tony.

Tony accepted the checkbook and pen without hesitation and began writing.

Before long, he had written out a check for 30.5 million, tore it off, and handed it to Roy.

Roy accepted the check, glanced at the amount, and smiled in satisfaction.

The moment he took the check, system notifications that only he could see appeared before his eyes.

[Commission: Rescue Tony Stark]

[Commission Status: Completed]

[Commission Reward: Become the One-Tail Jinchuriki (Issued)]

As the system notifications appeared, an enormous mass of chakra materialized inside his body out of nowhere.

This chakra did not merge with his own. Instead, it was implanted into his body through a seal.

At its core, a Jinchuriki was a human vessel with a Tailed Beast sealed inside.

Naturally, the One-Tail's Tailed Beast chakra would not merge with his own chakra.

Though he had become the One-Tail Jinchuriki, he was completely different from Gaara.

Because the system's commission rewards would never be living creatures with self-awareness.

In other words, without needing to understand one another with a Tailed Beast, he had become a Perfect Jinchuriki capable of fully transforming into a Tailed Beast.

Storing the check in his system space, Roy said to Tony, "If you run into any difficult problems in the future, you can come to Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan and hire me."

"No need to wait for the future. I have a commission for you right now."

Tony said quickly.

"What commission?"

Roy asked.

Tony immediately replied, "This isn't the place. We'll talk in the car."

With that, he headed toward the Rolls-Royce behind Pepper and Happy.

"Go on. What do you want to hire me for?"

Roy shut the car door and asked directly.

"I want to hire you as my secret bodyguard. Protect Pepper and me until I find out who has been selling Stark Industries weapons to terrorists."

Tony did not beat around the bush, staring at Roy with a serious expression.

"I'm a private detective, not a bodyguard."

Roy replied.

Tony quickly said, "Traveling halfway around the world to rescue a hostage from terrorists isn't the kind of job a private detective normally takes either."

As soon as he finished speaking, the system completed its assessment and issued a new commission.

[Commission: Serve as Tony Stark's Secret Bodyguard]

[Commission Status: Incomplete]

[Commission Reward: Lightning Release: Chidori]

After closing the notification panel, Roy said to Tony, "Thirty million."

"No problem."

Tony agreed without a second thought.

Thirty million was indeed expensive.

But for him, it was entirely acceptable.

After discussing some details regarding protection, Tony called Pepper and Happy into the car.

Happy drove.

Pepper sat in the front passenger seat.

Happy asked, "Sir, where to?"

Before Tony could answer, Pepper said, "The hospital."

"No."

Tony rejected Pepper's arrangement.

"Tony, you have to go to the hospital and get checked out."

Pepper turned to Tony and said quickly.

Tony looked at Pepper seriously. "I said no. Don't force me to go to the hospital."

"I was held captive for three months. Right now, I only want to do two things."

"First, eat a cheeseburger."

"Second..."

Before Tony could finish, Pepper mocked him, "You really are horny."

"Not that. I want to hold a press conference."

Tony immediately corrected Pepper.

A press conference?

Pepper looked at Tony in confusion and continued, "The press conference can wait."

Tony ignored Pepper and told Happy, "Drive. Go buy a cheeseburger."

Half an hour later.

Stark Industries headquarters.

First-floor lobby.

Camera flashes went wild.

Surrounded by the crowd, Tony held the cheeseburger he had just bought and walked toward the podium with Obadiah at his side.

The moment he entered the lobby, Roy spotted a familiar figure.

The mayor of Marvel's newbie village!

A Level Eight S.H.I.E.L.D. agent!

The model American agent!

One of Nick Fury's most trusted subordinates—the S.H.I.E.L.D. director known as the "motherfucking hero"!

Phil Coulson!

Roy was not surprised that Coulson was here.

But Coulson clearly had not expected to see him here as well.

Still, the moment he saw Roy, a suspicion flashed through Coulson's mind.

Coulson did not waste any time and quickly approached Roy and Pepper.

"Mr. Roy, it's been a long time."

Coulson said to Roy.

"Not that long. Only a few months."

Roy replied.

Coulson turned to Pepper and continued, "Hello, Miss Potts. I'm Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. Would it be convenient to speak with you for a few moments?"

Pepper frowned slightly and looked at Coulson in confusion. "S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Even Tony had never heard of S.H.I.E.L.D., so naturally she was even less likely to know about it.

Coulson handed Pepper his business card and replied, "We're a special department."

Taking the card, Pepper said slowly, "The Department of Defense, the FBI, the CIA, and the military have all contacted us."

"We're different. Our duties are a little more specialized. We want to know the details of how Mr. Stark escaped."

As he spoke, Coulson's gaze landed on Roy.

"No need to guess. I was the one who rescued him."

"I accepted Miss Potts' commission and made a special trip to Afghanistan."

"I won't go into the details. Knowing that I rescued him should be enough for you to file your report."

Roy said unhurriedly.

Coulson was about to ask something else when Colonel Rhode came over to Pepper and asked, "What announcement does Tony want to make?"

"I don't know what he's planning either."

Pepper replied quickly.

At the same time, Tony, seated before the podium, began speaking.

"I didn't make it in time to see my father for the last time."

"If I had, I think I would have asked him what he thought about manufacturing weapons."

"Whether he ever struggled with it, whether he ever wavered, or whether he really was the uncompromising tough guy the media portrayed him as."

"I witnessed young soldiers being killed, dying beneath weapons I had intended to use to protect them."

"I also realized that I had become part of a world without accountability..."

At that point, Tony stood up, walked to the microphone at the podium, and said with utmost seriousness, "I've come to my senses. I realized that, besides making weapons, I have more to contribute to the world."

"So, effective immediately, I have decided to shut down Stark Industries' weapons division until I find a new direction for the company!"

Whether it was Pepper, Obadiah, Rhode, or the reporters in the lobby, everyone wore expressions of utter disbelief.

The only one who was not surprised was Roy.

As the reporters bombarded Tony with heated questions, Roy took out his phone from the system space and sent a message to his stockbroker.

Before heading to Afghanistan to rescue Tony, he had already contacted his broker to short Stark Industries stock.

He was not short on money, but he did not mind making a profit with the "inside information" that came with being a transmigrator.